There is no doubt that the last two years have been a torrid time for students, promised 'blended learning' only to be locked down in university halls, their university experience curtailed by the government's poor handling of the coronavirus crisis.

We're often told that university is the best experience of our lives, but for most during this time, it is simply not true. In March 2020, society events were cancelled and forced online, and this continued throughout 2021. Now as we begin the new academic year, being a society exec myself, I've seen how you're still encouraging societies to run virtual events, and have cut down on the space within the university student union to discourage societies from meeting in-person. Many societies I know of are once again being forced to run entirely virtual, or having their regular events impossible to be held under your current restrictions of 1 hour per week in the SU rooms.

That's time we simply can't get back - the lost opportunities to socialise, make friends, and explore our own interests - not to mention the lost safety net of social interaction that's driven so many students into mental health issues.

Currently, students within the university are charged £6 to join the guild of societies, after which point they're free to pay to join societies they want. But non-students need to fill out forms and only be allowed to join committees upon request, and this is not a good way to regain the lost time and opportunities as a result of the pandemic.

We call upon Cardiff University Students' Union to:

• Charge former students impacted by the novel coronavirus no more than £6 a year to maintain Guild of Societies membership

• Extend the tenure of current students' lifetime membership until two years after graduation to allow them to make up for lost life experiences

• Streamline the process for ex-students to apply for society membership so that students who graduated during COVID can have the opportunity for in-person socialisation